(1) Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is related to a method and an apparatus for local and wide area networks, more specifically to a method and an apparatus for virtual people networking through an intranet.
(2) Related Art
The Internet is a wide area network connecting thousands of disparate networks in industry, education, government and research. The Internet utilizes transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) as a standard for transmitting information. An intranet is a local area network supporting a single organization such as a company. Through an intranet, users may transmit messages to other users through electronic mail (e-mail) and browse web pages. In business, the use of e-mail is becoming the preferred mode of communication amongst employees in a corporation.
With the increase in the number of employees in a corporation using an intranet to communicate with other employees and to search for information from various electronic web sites, an opportunity for potentially meaningful and productive work related interaction amongst employees arises. To promote interaction amongst employees, it is desirable to make certain user access information on employees available. It is therefore desirable to have a method and an apparatus for a user connected to an intranet to accumulate information on other users connected to the same network and to access information allowing employees of the same corporation to network with the other employees and to remotely participate in group projects.